Naruto's First Hot Springs Experience!
by Hemlock
Summary: FINAL CHAPTER! And I don't want to leave! ; Anyway, the final chapter is here, and guess I made it before Christmas and New Year! Thanks a lot, guys, kind readers, and closet-fanfic readers! You made my day! Now, on with the FINAL CHAPTER!
1. The Trip!

**Chapter One**  
  
The Trip

_My very first Naruto fanfic! Enjoy and review, ok! And I think there will be more chapters coming!_  


"I can't believe this! Kakashi-sensei is actually taking us on a holiday trip!"  
  
Sakura danced as she said these words. She was feeling happy. Why not? Sasuke was near, the day was clear and the sky was blue, and there were birds singing in the trees, and –   
  
"Yeah! Isn't it cool?!"  
  
- and hyperactive number one was along. "I thought you weren't interested, Naruto?"  
  
"Oh! Why did you think _I_ wasn't interested!? Mountain air, the trees, the –"  
  
"- the fact that we're actually going to get some very rare herb for the Hokage interests you, Naruto?" Sasuke snickered as he walked forward.   
  
"SHUT UP, SASUKE!" Naruto made a move toward Sasuke who was prepared to bounce back at him.  
  
"Guys," Kakashi said from behind them, "if we want to arrive at the village before sundown, we better stop talking and _really_ start walking. Okay? Okay. And, Sakura?"  
  
"Yes, sensei?"  
  
"This is _not_ a holiday trip. What got that idea into your head?"  
  
A little blank look appeared on Sakura's face. "Huh?"   
  
"I said this is not a holiday trip."  
  
"But – I heard you said that the other day to Iruka-sensei that you were going to take a leave to the Amakura hot springs!" _Oh no! And I won't be able to show off my new – wait a minute… I smell something fishy_. She turned to Naruto with murderous eyes. "You set me up, didn't you, Naruto?" she asked with a sickly sweet voice that Naruto knew something dangerous was about to happen.  
  
"Huh? Set you up for what?" Naruto immediately walked away from Sakura but she quickly caught his orange sweater tail. "Hey! Let me go, Sakura!"  
  
"Admit it! You set me up! You used Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to create a clone and Henge no Jutsu to transform into Kakashi-sensei while you transformed into Iruka-sensei!"  
  
"I am not that shallow, Sakura! Let me go!"  
  
"Please, guys," Sasuke stared on at them disinterestedly. _I can't believe they're my teammates. How I managed to tolerate them I never know._  
  
"Sakura! Naruto! Stop it!" Kakashi stepped forward.  
  
"But he tricked me, sensei!" Sakura turned to him with the most innocuous expression she could muster while her hands were wrapped around Naruto's wrists. "He tricked me! That was just mean!"  
  
"I was talking to Iruka-sensei about the holiday we are planning to have next year in Amakura. The village we're going to is _Imakura_." Kakashi eyed her with that one eye he always had uncovered, and as usual the eye revealed little expression. "How did you manage to eavesdrop on us? And why did you do it?"  
  
For the first time Sakura seemed uncertain. "I – uh… well…"  
  
"Well? _WELL_!?" Naruto asked angrily, pulling her hands away from his wrists. "I didn't do it, Kakashi-sensei, honest. I came along because I want to get away. It's rather boring with nothing to do in the village, and Konohamura always somehow manages to stalk me. It's irritating."  
  
Now Sakura was confused. "Then I –"   
  
"Yes, Sakura-chan. You misheard. Now, can we get on going? I want to get to _ Imakura_ Village before sundown and I need a good bath. But there is a good hot springs there… or so it used to be… I think I've been there ten years ago… I'm confused myself… hmm…"  
  
His students were looking at him with tons of doubts jumping off their faces. Kakashi nodded to himself, ignoring them completely. "Well, let's get on. Terazuma-san is waiting for us."  
  
  
Imakura Village is rather a small village with population no less than a thousand. It lies amongst Shibata, the dormant volcanic mountain ranges. Although sparsely populated, the village enjoys rather good trade with neighboring villages. Imakura Village is famous for its fur imports and fine weapon smithy. Though there are of course better smithy villages around the continent, Imakura is a good choice for those seeking balance between weapon practicality and value for money.   
  
So it was no surprise to see the village still active after night had fallen. Group number Seven was already inside one of the inns (after Sakura pulled them away from the red-light district) and presently a stately man with salt-and-pepper hair entered their room.   
  
"Terazuma-san. Thank you for this room. It is too kind of you to give us such a lovely room and good food too," Kakashi said, bowing his respect to the forty-something man.  
  
Terazuma nodded, smiling at him and then the youths behind Kakashi. "I see that you are in dire need of both food and comfort, and so I see it fit for you and your helpers to have this."  
  
"Naruto," Sasuke whispered, slapping Naruto's thighs beneath the table, "stop eating so much. You look like a starving convict."  
  
"Hmmh? Hmm *_munch_* grhhmm *_munch munch_* hrgg ghhm *_chomp chomp_* nggh." The last noodle slipped inside past his lips. Naruto sighed, contented. Then he gave out a loud burp.   
  
Sakura couldn't resist the notion, and so she hit Naruto on the head. Naruto's face fell into the fortunately empty ramen bowl. Bickering ensued. Kakashi hung his head in shame.  
  
"I apologize, Terazuma-san," he said over and over again, to which Terazuma gracefully waved away. "Shall we sit down?"  
  
After they all were properly seated – and the bickering had ceased – Terazuma took out a small lacquer box from beneath the table. "This is what you all came for," he said with a dramatic flair as he opened the cover. Inside lay a wrinkled, blackened root… or something. They all stared at it as if it would leap up and run away. It didn't.  
  
Naruto was the first to break the prolonged silence. "We came for that piece of dry plant? What a joke."  
  
Terazuma smiled at Naruto, and Sasuke thought, _I can't stand it. How many times he smiles a day? And doesn't it get boring?_  
  
"Naruto! Be respectable," Sakura hissed at him. Naruto stuck out his tongue at her.  
  
"It does look undesirable, yes, but Naruto-kun, it's a very rare herb. It grows only here on the volcanic soils of Shibata, and it only blooms for one day in fifty years. When it blooms, it's the only proper time to take its roots."  
  
Naruto wasn't impressed. "It still looks like cow dung to me."  
  
If Terazuma was losing his patience he could hide it very well. "It's a very delicate herb! Very hard to cultivate, very hard to come by, and takes fifty years to grow and bloom! And in one day it blooms and then the next day, it will die! You see how impressive this herb is?"  
  
A strained silence followed. Naruto scrutinized the root under the light and looked up at Terazuma with a straight face. "Ah, I think you have an old man's spot under your left eye, the one like our Hokage has -"  
  
For the first time in 8 years Terazuma-san lost his patience.  
  
  
"You couldn't have administered a more just punishment on Naruto. I apologize deeply on his behalf. Yes, Terazuma-san, we will take good care of it."  
  
Kakashi was about to close the door when suddenly Terazuma's hand held the screen door open. "Kakashi-san…"  
  
"Yes?"   
  
Terazuma looked down, and slowly he searched Kakashi's face. "I – need to ask you something."  
  
Kakashi's uncovered eye was open wide. "I'm listening. Or do you prefer to come inside again and talk about it?"  
  
"No – not in front of those kids. No – definitely not."  
  
"Then we shall discuss it on the doorway. What is it?"  
  
Terazuma still looked uncertain. Then he took a deep breath and stared into Kakashi's eye. "Have you ever heard of the Murashi Incident?"  
  
"_Eh?_"  
  
  
"That old man shouldn't have done it," Naruto complained the next morning as he rubbed his tender ass. "How dare he spanked me?! I'm not a baby anymore! _Ouch_…"  
  
"Served you right," Sakura said sleepily from behind the sheets. It was morning, but the temperature was cool, as if the sun hadn't yet risen. Outside, though, the signs of life were present. A cockerel crowed and somewhere someone was chopping firewood just outside the window.   
  
Sasuke looked as if he had had a bath, and Naruto decided he should get some, too. "Oi, Sasuke, is there a public bath in this inn?"  
  
"Where do you think I had my bath, in the toilet bowl?"  
  
"I was asking! For goodness' sake…" Mumbling to himself, Naruto walked out and brought along a towel. He followed the signs, (to his delight the inn had hot springs! Or so the signs said) wondered briefly whether he should transform into a girl and go inside a women's only bath, thought better of it, and stepped inside the men's only bath.  
  
Inside there were three figures. The steam made it hard to recognize, but later as he settled down, Naruto realized his sensei was one of them. "You're up early, Naruto. Your ass still hurts?"  
  
"Very funny, sensei. I should've used my devastating technique and left him breathless." Naruto dunked his head and came up for air after some time. "Sensei, are we going back today? Can't we have a small tour, a little look-about? You know, like a small vacation."  
  
One of the bathers cut in. "You should go to the dormant volcano. It's not far from here, just a few hours' walk." Another suggested that they should go to a small temple at in the Abemori. Soon the four spoke at length almost every historical and titillating spots around the village, and Naruto listened with great delights to it all.  
  
"Ah, I heard that Murashi-no-mori is a nice spot for hot springs!" Kakashi mentioned conversationally. "I remember I came there maybe ten years ago… it was a great spot if I remember it correctly. There were trees all around, like a big umbrella, covering the springs. And the temperature! It's nice and warm and – ah? You're leaving already?"  
  
The two bathers rose and said the proper goodbyes and promptly left. Naruto watched this rather rushed exit with wonder. "Ah… Kakashi-sensei? Why did they leave? Sensei? Hello, sensei…"  
  
But Kakashi wasn't paying attention to him. There was this strange look on his face. He seemed to be deep in thought as he rose and left the bath. Naruto was left alone. Just as then Kakashi called from outside:  
  
"Come, Naruto! We'll have a small tour around Shibata."  
  
Naruto immediately forgot about the strange look and leapt out of the bath, screaming with joy. But then he stopped and peeked outside. "Kakashi-sensei, do you think we can have breakfast first?"

Unwillingly Kakashi nodded.

_Author's Note: I seriously need feedback. My knowledge on anything Japanese is bad at best and worthless at worst. So, if I used any Japanese words that are improper, please say so in the review section or better yet, email me. And I need a beta-reader! Email me on that too! Till then, **itadakimasu ** (my current hot phrase!_)!


	2. Abandoned! The Secret of Murashimori!

**

Chapter Two

**

Abandoned! The Secret of Murashi-no-mori!

  
_**Random Ramblings #1**: Ah! Second Chapter! And I have the third on the way already! This is fun!_  


"_Itadakimasu_!!"  
  
They all began to eat in silence, a rare moment because usually Naruto and Sasuke would try to beat each other while eating. _Maybe they're still sleepy_, Kakashi thought as he ate his portion. _Or maybe it's because we're eating in this eat-out, hai-hai..._  
  
"Kakashi-sensei, are we going right back to Konoha Village?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Ah… I thought that over bath just now. Maybe we'll have until noon before we should be ready to go back. So I plan to take you guys for a walk around Imakura."  
  
"Really? That's wonderful! Isn't Sasuke?" Sakura turned to Sasuke who was eating silently.   
  
"Hn." He picked another fish and ate it in silence.   
  
_I never know if he's agreeing or disagreeing with me_. Sakura stared at him, and then at Naruto who tried his best not to make disgusting sounds as he always did while eating. _And it's always Naruto who listens instead_. She gave a theatrical sigh of despair.  
  
Naruto felt that the table was rather quiet – according to his standards. He turned to Kakashi who did not quite touch his food. Seeing him unoccupied, he decided to ask. "We will go to the hot springs, won't we, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said in a loud voice.   
  
Someone exclaimed loudly as a bowl crashed onto the ground. They looked up from their food and saw the serving lady picking up the broken pieces. After glancing at them for a moment she hurried inside. Angry voices rose from behind the curtained doorway.   
  
"Why is everyone around here always nervous?" Naruto asked no one in particular.   
  
"Naruto, finish your meal." Kakashi placed his chopsticks on the table.  
  
"But – Kakashi-sensei –"   
  
Kakashi turned to Naruto. "_Finish your meal. Now_."   
  
"Eh!?" That look on the sensei's eye was enough. Naruto wisely shut his mouth and did as he was bid. Sasuke stared briefly at Kakashi, then without a word also finished his meal.  
  
Meanwhile Sakura was doing an observation on her own. Though she appeared to be enjoying her meal slowly, in truth she was taking in what had happened just now.   
  
The woman dropped the bowl as soon as the words hot springs escaped from Naruto's worthless mouth. _What is wrong with the hot springs_, she thought as she stood up and left with the rest. _And why are the people around us looking at us that way?  
  
As if we are intruders?  
_  
  
"That was uncomfortable," Sakura said, relating her thoughts to an inexpressive Sasuke. They had walked for half an hour now, and the Shibata mountain ranges now loomed before them. "Do you think the hot springs around this region are dangerous?"  
  
"Why do you say that?" asked a smiling Naruto. "Maybe there are too many beautiful ladies taking their bath there, and they don't want outsiders to see the ladies na-" Naruto stopped himself, sensing Sakura's eyes trained on his back. "Nothing! To see the ladies nothing!"   
  
"Don't you ever try to take things seriously, Naruto?" she asked him while keeping an eye on Sasuke who walked in front of her. "Sasuke? What is it?"  
  
"Kakashi-sensei," he said simply. "He's gone."  
  
The three looked around them. True enough, their eccentric, slightly off-beat sensei had disappeared. "Now what is he thinking? Leaving us alone here in the middle of nowhere in a strange country?" Sakura began. "I can't stand this any longer! I will report about this to Hokage-sama when we get back! Leaving his charges alone without any warning!"  
  
"Sakura, I don't think sensei wants to leave us," Naruto slowly reasoned. "Maybe he needs to pee or something. You wouldn't want to see that now, would you?"  
  
"I don't care! At least he should've told us or something –"  
  
"Quiet, you two," Sasuke said suddenly. "Someone's coming."  
  
The country road they had traveled on was covered with tall trees , and the road had high banks and thick undergrowth on both sides. There was no immediate hiding spot in sight, so quickly they formed a circle facing outward. Kunai was quickly produced, and they stood still.  
  
Their eyes, however, did not. They scoped and scanned everywhere.   
  
"Is that person near, Sasuke?" Naruto whispered restlessly twirling his kunai in one hand.  
  
"Very near," he replied under his breath. His head cocked to a direction and his hand flew out, throwing the kunai before he could say "There!"  
  
Something hard fell forward and out of the undergrowth. It tumbled onto the road and the three looked hard at it.  
  
It was the serving lady from the restaurant. "I – I don't mean any harm –" was all she managed as she lay there helpless. They all snapped out of the trance and Sakura quickly moved to the woman's side.   
  
"Sasuke!" Naruto took the chance to bash him thoroughly. "How could you! That was just the kind lady! You almost got her killed and create a civil war!"  
  
"She's all right, Sasuke," Sakura called out. "She's just shaken."   
  
"Uh… but – but you almost killed that lady! You should be more careful throwing that kunai of yours!"  
  
Sasuke threw a cold glance at Naruto. "Can't you shut up?"  
  
Naruto gnashed his teeth together. "You won't admit it still, do you? It's a terrible mistake, Sasuke! What if she died from your kunai? Huh?!"  
  
"I'm fine, young sirs," said the lady who slowly pushed herself off the ground and walked, with Sakura's help, toward them. "I'm sorry I had to follow you around like that. I wasn't sure whether you were really going to the hot springs. But it seems you all are."  
  
"What? What about that hot springs?" Naruto asked.  
  
"Yes, miss, what about the springs?" Sakura echoed him. "It seems like everyone is afraid to talk about it."  
  
She gave them a sad smile and released a deep sigh. "As strangers, it's perfectly forgivable that none of you know about the history of Murashi-no-mori. Well, Murashi-no-mori is the name of the hot springs, and also the forest around it. People used to go there a long time ago for the obvious reasons. But the springs were also known for its medicinal purposes. Stories of illnesses cured in the hot springs were aplenty, and this was why Murashi-no-mori was known once as the Goddess' Fountain.   
  
"The name, however, faded after several strange incidents a few years ago. People who went there reported of strange sightings and later on, unexplained deaths began to crop up."  
  
"What strange sightings?" Naruto asked. "What kind of strange sightings?"  
  
The lady turned to him and smiled. "You're an eager boy. But I will tell everything in good time. The sightings were strange to say the least, and disturbing. Because there were always a big group of people going to the springs, the sightings couldn't be denied, as there were a lot of people seeing the same thing at the same time."  
  
"What did they see, miss?" asked Sakura. "Something terrible?"  
  
Sasuke's eyes widened when he heard her snicker. "It's worse than that. It's a _spider-lady._"  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence that passed over them for a few seconds. Then Naruto skeptically broke the silence. "Hah… there're no such things." Then, uncertainly: "Are there?"  
  
"Of course there are, stupid," Sakura scolded him. "So… that's why the villagers don't like to talk about it. It's terrible and they don't want the outsiders to know about it."  
  
The lady nodded. Her young face suddenly looked very old, as if she was in deep pain. "I – I have told you the forbidden secret of this village," she said in a pained voice. "I – I hope nobody knows about this, and please, for your safety, leave! Don't go there!"  
  
"But –" Sakura began.  
  
"Please! I don't want horrible things to befall on you! You sweet little things… don't go there, I plead to all you!"  
  
Naruto watched as the lady grabbed hold of Sakura's shoulders. Sakura, in turn, turned to Sasuke, and then Naruto. "I think this is dangerous, too," Sakura said in a strained voice. "We should leave this place immediately."  
  
"Oi, aren't you forgetting something?" Naruto asked loudly, typical of his style. "Sensei is lost. We can't go back without him!"  
  
The lady's eyes widened in surprise. "What? He is gone? Where?"  
  
Sakura shook her head. "We don't know, miss! He was there for a moment, and then he was gone the next. We thought he might be pulling our legs, but now I'm not sure…"  
  
"Oh, no," she said, pushing herself away from Sakura," Oh, no! I have to tell the village head! Somebody! Maybe she's got Kakashi-sensei! I have to hurry! Come, children! Follow me back to the village!"  
  
"Ah, I don't think so," Sasuke said suddenly. The coldness in his voice crept a few degrees down.  
  
"What?" Sakura asked. "What do you mean by that? We should get help!"  
  
"I think Naruto knows why," he said, giving Naruto a lopsided, small smile.  
  
Naruto's eyes widened, both in confusion and surprise. Then, slowly he understood. "Ah! Ah-HA! Since Kakashi-sensei is used to _us_ helping _him_ out, why not today?" He laughed arrogantly, and continued: "Sorry, miss! We have to search for our sensei. Besides, we're Genins! And great ones at that! And me, Uzumaki Naruto, will become the –"   
  
Sakura moved fast enough to cover his mouth. "Yes, Naruto, we know that, and we will look for sensei. I think I agree with them, miss," she said, now to the woman, "We have to look for our sensei. Though he is better than us, he might be overcome by this spider-lady."  
  
"Besides," said Naruto after pulling Sakura's fingers off his mouth, "the road back to the village is safe, right? You followed us to here without any incident, so it's safe for you to go back alone and get some help. As if we needed some."  
  
"Don't brag, you useless brat!" Sakura scolded him. "We need help, miss. Just be careful on your way back, okay?"  
  
The woman turned away as she nodded determinedly. "I will." Then as if recalling something, she looked over her shoulder. "There is an old belief around here. It might be helpful to you."  
  
"What is it?" asked Sakura.   
  
"You see those flowers over there?" she said, pointing to a bunch of wildflowers, yellow in color. "It grows in threes. Take each of the flowers from each bush and put it on you – anywhere, as long as it doesn't fall off."  
  
"Why do we want to wear flowers?" asked Naruto. "That's – that's sissy!"  
  
"It is said that this flower will protect you from that monster." She turned away and began running back to the village. "Well, it's just a small belief, but I want to see you all come back alive! Be careful!"  
  
They nodded at her and stood there as the woman disappeared at the bend. "Now what are we going to do?" Naruto asked. "We don't know where sensei went. All we know that he might be somewhere around this forest."  
  
Sakura was looking at the wildflowers the woman had pointed to earlier. "All right guys, I think we all should take that lady's advice."  
  
Naruto was the first to back away. "No. No-no-no-no-no!"  
  
"Sakura, that's just a stupid belief. Don't tell me you believe that?" said Sasuke, skeptical and cold. "Leave it be."  
  
"But –"  
  
"Come on, Sakura. I'm not going if I'll have to put some flowers on me," Naruto said triumphantly, walking behind Sasuke who had retrieved his kunai from the tree up at the high roadside.  
  
Sakura briefly debated in her head.   
  
  
As the road got deeper into the forest, it became less and less clear. When the road came to an abrupt end they considered paving the undergrowth. To their surprise the rather dense undergrowth hid a cobbled path.   
  
"Cobbled path," Naruto said, seeming to outwardly reflecting but actually knowing nothing about it.  
  
"It means this was a commonly-used road once," said Sakura, staring at Naruto, knowing what he would say in retort.  
  
"Ha! I know that, Sakura! I was just testing you!"  
  
_As expected._ _Case closed_. She ignored him. "I think if we follow this path…" Sakura said, staring at Sasuke, waiting for him to finish her sentence. (_Her_ sentence! One step closer to Sasuke-kun!)  
  
"…we'd be able to get to the hot springs faster," Sasuke finished her sentence. "Start cutting."  
  
"You're not going to boss me around –" Naruto began, but Sakura slapped his head.   
  
"Shut up and work, you bragger!"  
  
Naruto used his clone skill to triple the speed while Sakura did her best single-handedly using a slender dagger. Sasuke sought for more hidden paths, but there was only this one, and he stayed ahead to seek out dangers. A few minutes later Naruto and Sakura saw Sasuke's hand move up in a sign: _stay low and silent_.  
  
Both did so, and moved toward him as silent as their skills would allow. "Eh, Sasuke, what can you see?" Naruto whispered.  
  
A long while later, when Naruto's patience almost snapped, Sasuke replied in a low, strained voice, "Nothing."  
  
"Ah? Nothing? Then why are you so serious!? If there's nothing, then we have nothing to worry about!"  
  
Sakura pulled him down just as Naruto was about to stand up. "Don't! Don't you remember what sensei always says? Always read underneath the underneath!"  
  
"I hate that phrase," Naruto said. "What about it?"  
  
"Sasuke means that he cannot see anything. Not even a squirrel or a bird. Now, listen around you. Can you hear anything?" Sakura pointed to the forest roof. It loomed above them like some dark entity.  
  
Naruto's ears perked, moved and he tried not to breathe for a few minutes. There was complete silence around them. It felt like a vacuum sucking in everything that made a sound. "Ah! You're right! It's creepy, Sakura! Not even a cricket!"  
  
Sakura sighed in defeat. "Naruto, crickets come out at _night_! What kind of a fool are you!?"  
  
"Quiet, you guys," Sasuke whispered harshly. "I see something."  
  
Sakura moved behind Sasuke. Naruto, who didn't want to be left behind, crawled beneath the undergrowth, and looked upward. Sasuke was sitting on a bough of a low tree, his hand covering his eyes.   
  
"What is it?" Sakura whispered.   
  
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What is _it_?" she asked again.  
  
Suddenly Sasuke jumped off the bough and rolled away on the ground, pulling the other two along with him toward the base of a very big tree that had very large roots, enough for two grownups to hide in. He gathered the two close and peeked.  
  
"What's the idea?" Naruto asked, irritated.  
  
Sakura was about to protest, too, when she saw what made Sasuke run. "Hell… it can't be…" she managed to whisper out. Immediately her spine felt weak.  
  
Naruto looked to where Sakura's eyes were locked. His eyes widened, too, as wide as Sakura's.  
  
There, less than fifty feet away from them, hobbled an ugly, huge monster of a spider, its hide hardened by time and moss had grown over it. Its knobby legs creaked as it moved slowly, almost selectively, amongst the trees. Its incisors, each as big as a spearhead, clicked together now and then. They made a sound like rusted nails. It had moved almost leisurely just now, but somehow, the eyes turned in their sockets, and suddenly it changed its direction.  
  
Toward them.  
  
Naruto tried very hard not to scream. Sakura was already feeling faint, the smell coming from the monstrous spider nauseating and choking her scream. She could only open and close her mouth uselessly. Sasuke's eyes were narrow and his mind was quickly trying to figure a way out.  
  
The only problem was that monstrous spider's speed increased each second as it moved. Time had just become crucial.   


  
  
_TBC   
Author's Note: I can't find a Japanese name for this spider monster. If I remember correctly there is a Japanese name for it. Can anyone tell me? Otherwise I'll just have to call it the spider-lady... ai-hai... _


	3. The Battle! Kakashi Captured!

  
**Chapter 3  
  
** The Battle! Kakashi Captured!?

  
  
  
**_Random Ramblings #2:_** I changed Murashimori to Murashi-no-mori after I realised that the latter is the correct form of saying 'Forest of Murashi" in Japanese. Made changes in all of the chapters, too. I wonder now if Murashi carries a meaning... anyone? Mana? Do you know?  
  
"That was a bad move, Kakashi. _Bad move_."  
  
Kakashi shook his head as he slowly made his way through the tall grass and undergrowth. "What was I thinking? I shouldn't have taken this job, even for an old acquaintance. I left my underlings alone to seek this damned – _monster_." _If_ there was any monster.   
  
He tried to conjure a map in his head and turn it around. Murashi-no-mori is located to the northern part of the Imakura Village, near the Shibata Mountains. He looked up and saw that the sun was covered by the forest canopy. And it was past noon, so he was facing north from where he stood.   
  
As he searched his pockets for a compass his hand brushed against a small headphone. It was used for communicating between him and his underlings. "I hope this works," Kakashi thought as he turned on the headphone radio. He hoped that this way he could tell them not to move from where he had last left them.  
  
At first there was only static noise. "Right," Kakashi thought. "I'm near the mountains. Bad place to use a two-way radio."   
  
_Kakashi-sensei…  
_   
Kakashi froze. Someone called his name? Where?  
  
_Kakashi-sensei… help us…  
_   
_Genjutsu?_ he thought as he tried to see whatever it was. _No_, he added when he could sense nothing trying to force into his mind. _It's not an illusion. What is it then?_  
  
_Kakashi-sensei_… then a strangled sob followed.  
  
His hand went up to his right ear and pressed the phone deeper. Again he heard a sob.   
  
_It's Sakura! Why was she crying?_ "Sakura! Sakura! Can you hear me?" There was a gasp and suddenly a massive static burst in. Kakashi's eyes widened at the sound. _They're in trouble?!_  
  
Almost as immediately as the sound appeared, it dissipated, leaving only static behind. "Sakura!? Where are you?" There was only silence.   
  
_Damn it_, Kakashi thought. _Think, Kakashi!_ Just as fast an idea came.  
  
On average a two-way radio can transmit its wave as far as 5km radius. Murashi-no-mori has a 3km radius, and from the way the static interfered much with the transmission, they could only be in one place.  
  
One place he did not want them to be.  
  
He had no time to lose.  
  
  
"RUN!!!"  
  
"Nyaaaaaaaaahhhh!! Sasuke!! Where can we run!?"  
  
"Just don't get caught!"   
  
"Sasuke-kun," whispered Sakura. Sasuke had her deposited on his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. Her head went up a bit, then she saw why they were running, leaping on tree branches. It was that horrendous creature! It looked as if it was like a massive boulder, with the moss growing over it and very weathered look. Only this boulder had legs; eight of them.   
  
"If we wore the flower we would be protected," Sakura thought. "They didn't want to listen, and now look what happens." Her hand moved weakly to search her dress pockets. She had just passed out and came back, so her physical world's grasp wasn't good yet. Her clumsy movements made Sasuke realize that she had regained consciousness.  
  
As the monster roared and tried to take him down with one of its free legs, Sasuke avoided the attacks deftly. Then he saw Sakura's fingers taking out something from her pockets.   
  
A near hit! Sasuke sensed the hairy claw-leg pass above him and he ducked just in time to feel the hairs on the claw-leg pass over his head.  
  
All of a sudden Sakura said, "Go away, spider-lady!"  
  
The spider suddenly stopped moving. Sasuke moved a safe distance away – a hundred feet probably – and stared back. What made the spider stop? Did Sakura do some jutsu which he couldn't detect?  
  
He risked a glance to look at Sakura. She had fainted again. _Dammit_, Sasuke thought. _I hoped this won't happen during fights, but…_  
  
"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto, who appeared out of nowhere close beside him, asked. "Why did it stop?"  
  
"I don't know," Sasuke said. "But we better get moving."  
  
But before they could move, some heavy liquid was spurted toward them. Just as quick, both Naruto and Sasuke felt it spreading around them, hardening and fixing them both onto the bark of separate trees.   
  
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "It's the web!"  
  
"I know!" _Dammit!_ Sasuke thought. He had already begun cutting through the sticky substance. This was a hard task because of Sakura on his shoulders. "Break it off you before it becomes too hard to cut through!" he shouted at Naruto.  
  
Naruto struggled to get to his kunai. _I can't depend on Sasuke now! I don't want to look like a sissy depending on him all the time!_ He felt the cold steel and pulled it out with one finger. The kunai sped upward, cutting a path through the still-wet web and pierced a spot just beneath his neck. _Good! Now to break through it…_  
  
"Naruto! Hurry!"  
  
"Shut up Sasuke! I'm trying – wha-?"  
  
A shadow fell on Naruto and he looked up, wishing it wasn't what he hated to think of. _Damn! Oh no!_ Underneath the hard web his hands moved as fast as they could.  
  
The spider loomed over him, the eyes moved in their sockets and making sickening sounds as they moved. Just like a bag of marbles would when shaken violently. Just then:  
  
"_What have you done to my flowers?!_"  
  
"Eh?" Naruto froze. Did the spider just speak, or was he imagining things? "Sasuke, if you're using Genjutsu, you're using it on the wrong target!"  
  
Naruto did his best to look around him. Sasuke was not in sight. _Then… who is it?_ Naruto slowly turned his eyes to the monster before him. The massive eyes and the hairy leg-claws loomed closer.   
  
"_I said, what have you done to my flowers!?_"  
  
_Waaaaah!!!!_ Naruto's eyes were at its widest by now. _The spider does speak! What kind of spider is this?! An enchanted spider? A Genjutsu? Either way, I'm gonna get killed here if I don't do something fast!!_  
  
"_You will pay for this, you worthless brat! Don't you realize what you have done!? It doesn't matter anyway. You will die for what you have done!_"  
  
Naruto's sweat stung his eyes as he closed them and as fast as he could, he made hand-seals underneath the now hardened substance. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he screamed.  
  
Just then he saw the claw-legs swing toward him.  
  
  
Tree-leaping at full speed northward, Kakashi's mind was blurry from concern, as blurred as the scenery that whizzed past him. _No, I must think what's important_, he thought._ Never let emotion take control of the mind_.   
  
The last thing Kakashi heard before the radio went out was a high-pitched squeal. It was probably Sakura's. Kakashi gathered more chakra at the soles of his feet and like a shot bullet he sped on.   
  
Suddenly from his right something whizzed. He turned to see but the thing had disappeared out of sight. Kakashi stealthily concealed a kunai in the sleeve of his coat and waited, even as he moved as fast as before.   
  
A shadow appeared at the tail of his sight. Turning around while leaping on a branch, he threw the concealed kunai toward the shadow. He heard some small exclamation but didn't wait to find out what it was. He turned to proceed.  
  
"Oh no, you don't, Kakashi."  
  
Intrigued by the familiarity Kakashi faltered for a second.  
  
It was enough.   
  
Suddenly he found his legs were surrounded by sticky things that hardened instantly. The sudden jolt pulled his legs down, causing him to fall face down on the ground, which luckily wasn't so far. Recovering from the fall, he glanced at his legs. Some strands of white stuff surrounded his legs in a tight hold.  
  
_Impossible! Could it be…?  
_   
"Eight years, right, Kakashi?"  
  
He turned to where the voice came from and saw the face of his captor. His eye widened in surprise.  
  
  
Clearly the spider was taken by surprise.  
  
"You're not going to kill me here, you stinking spider!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! You're not going to kill me; I will!!"  
  
Three Narutos held the leg-claw, hovering dangerously close to Naruto's head; another seven clung onto the rest of its legs, one on each. While the spider was still stunned Naruto quickly broke through the now weakened web and, brandishing out a kunai, he leapt toward the multitude of eyes. Though they were all black throughout, Naruto could sense fear in them, seeing his own image reflected on the obsidian surface. _Good_, he thought.  
  
"Die, spider!" screamed Naruto. Bloodlust and madness colored his eyes.  
  
That seemed to shake the spider up. It tried to move its legs, and when it couldn't, quickly it trashed around with all its strength. This sent the other Narutos off its feet and they vanished in a smoke, while the three at the foreleg-claw was thrown up, also vanished. Free at last, the spider gave out a bizarre call and thrust its jaw forward.  
  
"_Come and meet your death, child!_" it said.  
  
Naruto was no longer impressed by its talking ability. He now only knew that this spider was dangerous, and it had to be killed. At full speed, he headed straight for the open jaw.  
  
"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, angry and fearful at the same time. "Don't do it, you big moron! You'll get killed!!"  
  
The spider seemed to laugh as its whole frightening body shook momentarily. "_Fool! You can't escape once you're in my jaws!_"  
  
"What if I've already escaped?" asked a voice somewhere above it.   
  
The spider looked up. Naruto was standing on the tree where he had been bound earlier. "_What? Then… what is this…_"  
  
The charging Naruto suddenly vanished in a smoke and the only thing left was the kunai, still flying toward its jaw.   
  
It realized its terrible mistake and tried to block it, but too late. The kunai had already whizzed past the shielding foreleg-claws and found its mark at a vulnerable spot below the jaw. It let out its bizarre cry again, but this time in pain. When the cry ended, the huge monster slumped onto the ground. Blood began to flow out from its wound, dark red, almost black.  
  
With a triumphant laugh, Naruto leapt off the tree and onto the ground. "Sasuke! Come out! The monster can't fight anymore."  
  
Sasuke did, with Sakura leaning on his shoulders. "Is Sakura all right?"   
  
Sasuke nodded. Then slowly he started to say something, but held back. Unfortunately Naruto noticed this and he smiled mischievously.   
  
"Hey, Sasuke, I know you're gonna thank me. Ha-ha! You should! I saved our butts today! Me, Naruto! And I kicked a major butt of that spider monster!" Naruto said, grinning as wide as he could. "While you hid in the background! Oh, this feels great! It's time we have a big role reversal. Instead of you saving us all the time, now it's my turn!"  
  
"Will you shut up?" Sasuke said bitterly. True, Naruto had defeated the spider. But that didn't mean he could humiliate Sasuke. Besides, he had to protect Sakura who had inconveniently fainted during the chase.  
  
"Aw, c'mon! You just can't admit defeat, can you? Say it, Sasuke, say I saved us, c'mon…"  
  
Sakura woke up to their bickering and looked at who was holding her. "Sasuke-kun…" she whispered.  
  
"Hm? Hey, Sasuke, looks like Sakura is awake." Naruto turned his attention to Sakura who slowly was sat down by Sasuke. "Sakura-chan? You all right?"  
  
"I'm…" she began as she rubbed her sore shoulders and stared beyond the grinning Naruto that reminded her so much of a pleased cat. She saw the spider crouching there, silent and unmoving. Everything then came back like broken floodgates.   
  
"AAAARGHHHH!! WHAT – THAT SPIDER!! WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?! RUN!!!"  
  
Sasuke looked over his shoulders. "Oh, that spider. Well, you see – that is –"  
  
"I KILLED THAT SPIDER!" Naruto screamed impatiently. "Why can't you say it properly, you – you fool!"  
  
"Huh?" Sakura turned to Naruto. "You did? That's – not true."  
  
Naruto wanted to shave her head clean as mad as he was. Fortunately the girl was Sakura, the girl he adored for so long. He turned to her pleadingly.   
  
"Sakura, I really, _really_ killed that spider! Believe me, please! Sasuke was only hiding in the background –"  
  
"Hey!"   
  
"– and he did nothing! Look! There's still my kunai under that bad spider's jaw!"  
  
Sakura was already standing in front of Sasuke, hugging him gratefully and happily while Sasuke tried to pry her off him. "Hey – hey! Stop hugging me! Dammit Sakura! Stop that! You're choking me!"  
  
"Ah, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura was saying, oblivious to Naruto's pained expression and Sasuke's pleads. "You saved me? You're concerned of me! I'm touched! I'm so fortunate you looked after me!"  
  
_Why do I have to faint when he was holding me? Does that mean I have to faint again next time so that he will hold me?_ Sakura thought. _Whatever! The important thing is he held me, my body! If Ino hears about this, she'd kill herself!_  
  
"I killed the spider…" Naruto said to himself over and over again, then got up and walked toward the carcass. "I killed a damned big spider, and she's hugging that show-off Sasuke… why is it when I do something she never sees it, but that Sasuke instead?"  
  
Trying to shut out the happy cries and Sasuke's protests Naruto kicked hard at the carcass. Then he kicked at it again. The third kick sent the carcass rolling away, because they were on some sort of a slight slope, and Naruto stared in curiosity as it rolled and disappeared from sight. Then he heard a loud splash.  
  
Sasuke, after successfully pushing Sakura aside, heard it too. "Naruto, where did you kick that spider to?"  
  
Naruto pointed to his left. "Sounds like it fell into a pond or something. Wanna go check?"  
  
"Are you guys sure the spider is already dead?" Sakura asked. She still couldn't believe Naruto killed the spider.   
  
"If you won't believe that, Sakura, it's up to you." Naruto said with a smile. "But I know I killed it, and Sasuke saw it. That's what matters." With a huge leap he disappeared into the bushes. Suddenly they both heard him scream.  
  
"What trouble he get himself into now?" Sasuke muttered as he ran toward the bushes. Pushing the thick bushes aside he kept his speed, then he realized why Naruto had screamed.  
  
About five feet before them lay the end of the land. Sasuke quickly stopped, and hearing Sakura's footfalls not far behind him he quickly held out his right arm, stopping her instantly.   
  
"He fell?" Sakura asked when she saw what lay before them. "Naruto! Where are you?! Answer me!"  
  
"He might have knocked himself unconscious," Sasuke said. Just then he noticed something about the whole area. "Sakura, can you smell it?"  
  
"Smell what?" Sakura asked. She took a brief sniff and her brilliant mind quickly figured out that smell. Hot springs! "We're in the Goddess' Fountains, aren't we? The air smells like mineral springs. And it's very sharp, too. Plus I can see steam rising from below us."  
  
"Naruto could've fallen down," Sasuke said. "Let's go down."  
  
The journey downward took quite a while; they leapt upon slippery stones carefully and finally in the rather thick steam found they had arrived at the base of the hot springs. "Careful, Sakura," Sasuke said. "There might be more enemies here."  
  
"Do you mean the spiders?"   
  
"Yes. So," he said, turning briefly to her, "please don't faint again."  
  
I_ want to faint so YOU can hold ME!_ "All right, Sasuke-kun, I won't," she said obligingly. Then, through the mist, Sakura saw what appeared to be an orange material. "Sasuke! I think I've found Naruto!"  
  
They ran toward the orange material. To their disappointment it was only the loud ninja's sweater. "But this means he must be near," Sasuke reasoned. "Let's spread out and – Sakura? What's the matter?"  
  
Her shaky forefinger pointed to the inner side of the sweater. Sasuke immediately saw it and his eyes widened in surprise. He looked at Sakura, whose face was pale despite the steam around them.   
  
"Spider's blood," was all she managed to say.  
_TBC  
  
Author's note: Whoah! That was a lot! Fight scenes aren't my specialty, but I hope this can do Naruto justice. By the way, thanks for the great reviews! For those who read-and-go type, would you please please please write a review? I accept flames too. Just dust me off when you're done with me and keep the flamethrowers away from children. That aside, review, pls XD. And thanks Mana for helping with the Japanese name, now I know what should I name the spider lady! _


	4. History of the Spiderlady! Kakashi Regre...

**Chapter Four**

History of the Spider-Lady! Kakashi Regrets! 

  
  
_**Random Ramblings #3:** I have just finished my exams and I don't know how should I feel. Writing this, however, took away the brunt of anxiety. I don't understand why some people say what we're doing (writing fanfics) is a waste of time. I think it's very healing._  
  
  
  
"Why would he send you here?"  
  
Kakashi looked at the woman standing before him. "Terazuma? He told me that you've been naughty."  
  
She stared back at him with those black pools of eyes. "How naughty?" she asked with a slight smile.  
  
"Enough for him to feel afraid," Kakashi replied. "Why would you do that?"  
  
"The deaths, you mean?" she asked. "If you must know, I didn't do it."  
  
"There are bodies enough to build a small dam around this place. If your words are your only defense then you're seriously lacking."  
  
Her stare did not waver. Kakashi also stood his ground. Neither of them moved for a long while. Then the woman released a sigh and shrugged her shoulders.   
  
"I guess you're right, as always."  
  
His eye inexpressive, Kakashi asked: "So you didn't kill them?"  
  
"I didn't, Kakashi, and you know it." She leant back against a tree as Kakashi walked toward her. "This is what you get, you know? You vowed to protect and then ten years later what do you get? A stupid bedtime story and a bad stain on your name. Trust, it seems, is not a part of the human mind anymore."  
  
Kakashi stopped at an arm's length. "Trust has never been a part of the human psyche, Kumokura. I thought what happened eight years ago should've taught you that, severely."  
  
Kumokura shut her eyes. Kakashi knew she was trying to hide the pain she was feeling right now, as indicated by her shaking body. "Don't open old wounds, Kakashi."  
  
"I'm sorry." Kakashi stared downward. "As part of your past, I couldn't help it."  
  
"I'm different now," she suddenly said with a ferocity he never knew. Her eyes were now open and flames of black determination burnt within. "I'm not the monster like my father was, and I have sworn, in my own blood, that I will never be like him!"  
  
"Nevertheless," Kakashi said, "his blood still runs in your veins, and you're still a monster to them."  
  
Whether Kakashi didn't intend to evade or Kumokura's movements were too fast for him to do so, in a second, around his neck, Kumokura's hands wrapped themselves in a tight grip. Kakashi didn't show any emotion; with hands thrust in his pockets, he merely stared at her while Kumokura gnashed her teeth together, eyes angry and wild.   
  
"If I am, Kakashi, if I am a monster like my father," she said under her breath, "your neck would have been snapped broken by now."  
  
The grip loosened. She stepped back, her hands fell away to her sides and she released a deep sigh. "But I'm not," she added with a smile. "Thank the gods, I am not."  
  
"I still find it hard to believe –" Kakashi began, but then he noticed Kumokura's murderous eyes. "Ah – seems like I'm pushing my luck. Well, we'll leave it at that."  
  
"Smart move," Kumokura said. "Otherwise you'd find some part of your body missing in half a second."  
  
Kakashi didn't want to think which part that would be. "Do you have any idea what is causing these deaths then?"  
  
"I've ruled out wild predators," she began as they started to walk. "This place is free of predators; besides, the deaths were not inflicted by any predator I've ever seen. The method of killing differed, but mostly the victims were attacked head-on. And they must have been terrified right down to the bones."  
  
Kakashi's eye, for the first time, had signs of interest. "What do you sum up from that?"   
  
"Simple," she said. "And yet, complex."  
  
Now Kakashi seemed confused. "Eh?"  
  
  
Naruto was in a dream:  
  
He sat in the warm water, steam rising all around him and at once he felt rejuvenated and comfortable. This place was better than the inn! No wonder they called it the Goddess' Fountain. He placed his arms around the edge, leant back, and sighed contentedly.  
  
"Massage, young sir?"  
  
"Hey, that'd be great! After that fight, I could use some massage!" Naruto groaned as the small yet strong fingers began kneading his back. "This is a dream! A very wonderful dream!"  
  
"Perhaps you would like it to stay that way for a bit more?" the woman's voice asked.  
  
"A bit more? I would like it to stay like this FOREVER!" he shouted aloud.   
  
"Then I will returns shortly," the voice said, and the fingers disappeared.  
  
Naruto never felt so – so _high_ before. It was like eating ramen and having Sakura sitting beside him also eating ramen. It felt that good. No, make it like he beat the pulp out of Sasuke's show-off butt, and he emerged glorious and unharmed, then Sakura leapt forward to hug him, and, and –  
  
"Naruto," said Sakura.  
  
_Wow! This is one hell of a dream! I can even hear Sakura's voice clearly! _ "Yes, Sakura?"  
  
"You big fool, come away from there!"  
  
_Eh? _Sakura of his dreams would never say something like that. "Sakura?"  
  
"Snap out of it, you moron," suddenly a hated voice intruded. It seemed that the dream was fast deteriorating into a nightmare. "It's an illusion!"  
  
"Sasuke," Naruto said aloud, "get out of my dream! You good-for-nothing, show-offish, Uchiha-trash!"  
  
The steam before him parted revealing something red and before Naruto could stand up a heavy punch attached itself to his left cheek. "DON'T EVER, EVER CALL SASUKE THAT AGAIN, NARUTO!!" said Sakura, her eyes wild and angry.  
  
"Ouch…" was all Naruto could say. _The pain is real... No, this has to be a nightmare!_ he thought sadly. _Sakura never hits me in my dreams unless it's a scary nightmare! And there's also Sasuke, too. This is one terrible nightmare! _  
  
Sasuke suddenly popped in view. "Sakura, stop it! You'll alert the spider!" He turned to Naruto who was still lying in the pool. "Naruto, snap out of it. The spider-lady has woven a Genjutsu on you and you're under her control. We have to get you out of here before –"  
  
"I return," the woman's voice came from above them. The steam parted, this time to reveal a woman, fully clothed in a beautiful tea-green kimono and holding a small plate in her hands. The plate was filled with what looked like sliced peaches. "Oh, so your friends are here, too? Well, like I always say, the more the merrier."  
  
Sakura stared at the woman as if she was a monster. Sasuke meanwhile activated his Sharingan. Countless hours of self-training had enabled him to activate the skill quietly and without giving away the fact that he had just activated it.  
  
"Ah! Lady! They are my friends. Do you think you can accommodate us all?" Naruto cheerfully asked, still unfazed by Sasuke's warnings.  
  
She gave him a smile. "I have a lot of space. I'm sure I can accommodate all of you at once."  
  
That seemed to break into Sakura's trance-like state. "Sasuke," she whispered to him, "her neck…"  
  
Sasuke saw it too. She had it bandaged already, Sasuke thought and snickered. The lady noticed this and turned to Sasuke. "What's so funny?" she asked him.  
  
"Impressive Henge," Sasuke said. "But even your skills couldn't hide the fact that you've been hurt, _spider-lady_. And you're still weak, aren't you? Though I don't like a lopsided fight, in this part, I will fight you because you've taken our sensei, Kakashi."  
  
Sakura saw her eyes widened in pure surprise. "Kakashi!? He's here?"  
  
"Don't play dumb!" Sasuke went on while Naruto stared at them, dumb-founded and dumbly. "Kakashi was looking for you, then you somehow managed to catch and defeat him, and probably hid him. Knowing how spiders keep their victims, you would probably eat him only after a few weeks, waiting for the victim to be very weak."  
  
"You –!" Sakura paused, at a loss for words. "Give us our sensei back!"  
  
The spider-lady was either a very good actress or she was really surprised, but the bandaged neck spoke for itself: she was the spider monster Naruto claimed to have killed previously. "Young miss, I don't know where your sensei is, but if he is near –"  
  
"Yes, he is near: you have him!" Sakura shouted. "Why can't you just admit it that you've got him, you terrible monster!"  
  
Naruto heard a stifled exclamation coming from the woman and looked up. Her black eyes were open wide, expressionless –   
  
"Stop it!" Naruto said suddenly, leaping off the water and standing in front of the lady with both arms spread wide. (He wore his boxers, so there was no cause for horror – or delight, guys!) "You guys don't know her!"  
  
"Oh, and do you, Naruto? Think, you empty-headed, bad excuse for a genin! You nearly killed her and now she's making nice with you! Doesn't that look strange?!" Sakura shouted at him angrily. Naruto could be stupid, but even this was way off his charts. "You still don't get it, do you? SHE'S TRYING TO KILL YOU SOFTLY!"  
  
Sasuke, as usual, let Sakura do all the talking. Through the thick mist his Sharingan could see well enough. That was when he saw the woman's hands snake stealthily down to Naruto's neck. It reminded him of the spider's massive mandibles. Without much thought Sasuke took out a kunai from his thigh pocket.  
  
  
Kakashi was lost in thought as they sped back to the main road leading back to the village, ruminating on what Kumokura had told him earlier.  
  
Kumokura, it turned out, had a sister. When the raid was made eight years ago in what used to be a nest for a horrible spider-monster named Murashi, the ninjas who were summoned to destroy the nest, located high in the humid caves of Shibata volcano, had a long fight with the monstrous spider. Kakashi was one of the Jounins summoned, and he was an ordinary-level Jounin back then. It was one of his major fights and he would never forget the battle. It was both intense and bloody.  
  
That aside, Kakashi recalled the relief in his heart when Murashi was finally defeated. That was when a Sannin from the Aburame clan offered to take care of the egg left behind. He even offered to stay in the cave to properly raise the spider and vowed to the villagers' head that the spider would never harm the villagers.   
  
Six years ago Kakashi heard from Hokage-sama that the same spider-monster had taken a blood oath to protect the villagers to prove her sincerity. The oath, written on an ancient fuda, was then buried inside her. Among the vow contents were that the spider-monster would never attack the villagers for any reason save for the necessary self-defense. If broken, the oath would burn from within, killing her instantly.  
  
The Sannin from the Aburame clan meanwhile died a few years later. That was when the strange occurrences began to crop up.   
  
Terazuma had reasoned last night that somehow Kumokura had become immune to the fuda, or that she had removed it, and she had returned to her father's ways. Kakashi realized now that that wasn't the case anymore.   
  
It was possible that, while amidst the cacophony of battle, one of the eggs could have rolled out of sight unnoticed. When spider-monsters grow on its own, the evil instincts inside them would be the only rule they abide. And from evil instincts came evil craftiness.   
  
"Here we are, Kakashi – damn! The flowers!"  
  
Kumokura's eyes narrowed as she stared at the roadside. High up, there stood what used to be three tall bushes of wildflowers. Now they all were trampled down upon, obviously by something big.   
  
These wildflowers were actually wards. Kakashi realized that these were grown in threes around the forest boundary, for reasons he now knew. That explained so many things, as to how the bodies were found _only_ at the main road heading back to the village. The Sannin had taught Kumokura everything to defend herself, but had never actually anticipated the possibility of another spider. Nevertheless Kumokura was evidently taught about wards that fended off enemies, though it seemed useless right now.  
  
Kakashi leapt upward and Kumokura followed behind. He knelt beside the tracks and ran his hand over it. His eyes keenly observed the tracks.  
  
"What can you see?" Kumokura asked from behind.  
  
Kakashi's shoulders shrugged, then his whole body suddenly stiffened. "What is it?" Kumokura asked again, this time impatiently.  
  
He looked to his right, following the tracks. "This tracks leads back to the northern part of the forest. I think the long-lost sister has almost beaten us in this game." Kakashi let out a sigh and stood up. "I hope it's not too late for my students. Let's go!"  
  
Kumokura nodded and both took flight through the thick jungle. Never even pausing to take a breath, they pressed on. The distance of the Goddess' Fountains from the main road was about 5km, and it took about ten minutes to get there. Suddenly Kakashi stopped. Kumokura almost ran into him.  
  
"What are you thinking, Kakashi? Stopping suddenly like that?" Kumokura asked angrily. She was hot and bothered but not breathless.   
  
"Look down," he said. She did. Under them was a small expanse of grass and bare grounds. For the untrained eyes nothing seemed amiss. But put two Jounin-level people together and both could tell a story about what happened at that spot for the past twenty-four hours.  
  
Kumokura's eyes narrowed. "I can smell blood," she said.   
  
Kakashi turned to her, concerned. "Human blood?"  
  
Kumokura shook her head. "No, your students are fine." One hand pointed to a spot beside a thick bush. "That's one of your students' kunai. I think they took care of my – that monster," she added.   
  
Kakashi noticed the corner of her lips moved up a bit while she bit her lower lips. "You're happy?"  
  
She heaved a sigh. Turning to Kakashi she smiled. "At least we know she's so bad that even your genin-level students can defeat her."  
  
Kakashi's eye closed, indicating he was smiling. "I am proud of them," he said. Saying that made he think about the first time he met them and the genin survival training. "Alone, they are not bad; together, they are almost formidable."  
  
Kumokura's brows shot up. "They're that good, eh? But they're still genins. I think I can easily defeat them."   
  
Kakashi let the topic end there. He dropped down and knelt beside the bush. Picking up the kunai he realized it was not dropped; it fell and something heavy fell on it briefly. He looked at the bush beside the spot where the kunai was. Some of its leaves had been torn off, and the small branches were snapped.  
  
Kumokura heard him suddenly give a low laugh, sort of laughing to himself. "What is it?"  
  
Kakashi rose and twirled the used kunai on his forefinger. "I think you're right, Kumokura," he said, nodding to himself. "They're still genin-level. They don't even know how to cover their tracks properly. This way." He indicated to his right with the kunai.  
  
They moved silently, discovering the end of the land, leapt down, and knew that they were in fact in the famous springs. "So," Kakashi asked almost conversationally, as if they were there to have a picnic. "Where do you live?"  
  
Kumokura was lost. "How can you ask something like that in a time like this!?"   
  
"I'm just wondering! Never mind." Kakashi sighed. "Can you feel that?"  
  
Kumokura nodded. A small breeze had picked up some of the steam and cleared up the view before them. Kumokura grinned widely as Kakashi's eye widened in surprise and amazement.  
  
"I've forgotten how beautiful this place was." His eye scoured every detail of it, imprinting it in his mind, and trying to match it with his own faded memory. "It looks even more beautiful after all this years."  
  
There were seven large main springs, with smaller springs hidden behind the numerous rock formations that appeared through the ages. These acted as natural barriers between an all-female springs and all-male springs, and of course, the mixed springs where both sexes can sit and talk together. A few hardy plants grew here and there, signs of Nature's will to live. Surrounding the whole area, like green volatile walls, is the forest itself. Tall and green, the pines and other trees swayed to the breeze.   
  
Just as then the view was swallowed by the white steam again, turning it all into a hazy watercolor painting, colors melding into each other and blurring the lines.   
  
Kakashi suddenly saw something and pulled Kumokura behind a tall spire of a rock. Kumokura wanted to ask him but he covered her lips. A twitch under his eye made Kumokura realize something was near. She removed his hands and crouched.  
  
She looked to Kakashi. He was looking over his shoulder, over the rock spire. Kumokura crouched as low as she could and peered over the rock edge. Her eyes widened in surprise.  
  
The spider-lady! She was moving slowly, away from them. The way she moved she looked as if she was carrying something.  
  
_I'll kill you_, Kumokura thought, biting her lower lip.   
  
A dull thud was heard. The spider turned around. Kumokura and Kakashi followed her trail with their eyes as she hobbled toward something oval and big and white. The spider gave some sort of a groan, then she picked the white thing up. It caught at some bits of rock, then it began to unravel. Evidently it was a cocoon made from spider-silk.   
  
Kakashi's eye widened in horror. Behind the thick, white strands of the cocoon lay Sasuke, eyes closed. _Damn!!_ Kakashi closed his eye briefly, feeling at his worst right now. _I was a fool to leave them on their own!!!_  
  
Kumokura saw his hands clenched and nodded. She sat on the balls of her feet and was about to jump toward the spider when a hand suddenly grabbed hold of her shoulder.  
  
"_Kakashi!_"  
  
He shook his head. "It's too dangerous. We shouldn't attack now."  
  
"But this is the perfect time!"  
  
"She has my students with her." His eyes closed briefly; the pain of being an irresponsible sensei was new and hard for him. "I don't know what she did to them, but I don't want them to get hurt."  
  
"She has already hurt them! Can't you see that?!" Kumokura whispered angrily. "I don't need any other reason to go there and rip her worthless being apart!"  
  
"Unlike you," Kakashi said as the spider disappeared into the thick mists, "I need a plan."   
_TBC_  
  
_Author's Note: Yah! Exams are over, and now I am free to write as much as I want to! Yayyyy! Tell me, guys! Is this a good chapter or not? Review, review, pls! Suggestions, flames, whatnots, just click the review button! Thanks for following this story and thousands of thanks for reviewing it! XD _


	5. Enter Kakashi & Kumokura! Big Surprise A...

**Chapter 5**

Enter Kakashi and Kumokura! Big Surprise Awaits!

_Random Ramblings #4: I'm so sorry for this overly late update!! You all have every right in the world to punish me, because I was so lazy to think of a suitable conclusion! Now that I'm re-motivated again, I will continue to write, and I guess I will complete this before New Year. Thanks for waiting patiently!_

As they descended the long, winding natural corridors, Kakashi paused now and then, looking around them with what seemed to Kumokura a wasteful analytic eye. "It's all right, Kakashi," she said impatiently. "We're in no immediate danger. She's probably too far in front of us to detect us."  
  
"That's what I'm worried about," he said as he leapt nimbly from another level to where Kumokura was waiting. "She might leave some traps behind."  
  
"None so far," she said. "She doesn't even seem to realize my silk I had attached onto one of those cocoons." Kakashi watched as she slowly closed her eyes and her lips move in mute whispers. She was gauging how far away the spider was, whether it was still moving or not, and whether the silk was still attached to it. Moments later her eyes flew open.   
  
"She's stopped moving," Kumokura said in a whisper. "Probably four or five levels below us."   
  
"How deep does this cave go?"  
  
"It's basically not a cave," she began explaining as they walked as stealthily as they could. "It's more like a long set of corridors. I've never found the end, but it should come from somewhere in the heart of this mountain."  
  
"The heart? You mean it leads right to where the lava flows are still active?"  
  
Kumokura nodded nonchalantly. "It's not as dangerous as it sounds," she added soothingly when she saw his eye widened in concern. "Besides, if that sister of mine wanted to eat your students, she would have to wait several days for them to become utterly weak and vulnerable."  
  
Kakashi moaned. "You know, you don't make a good real-estate agent."  
  
Kumokura paused. "What does that suppose to mean?"  
  
"Your words to me haven't been really any help to alleviate my fears."   
  
They continued to descend further, feeling the temperature around them rise. Both sensed that the air became thicker and where they finally stopped, there was no light, although now and then a brief flash of orange-red light lit up the corners and the natural domed ceiling.   
  
They both were hidden behind a tall wide stalagmite which enabled them to observe the surroundings without risking detection. Kakashi stared up, gauging just how high the ceiling was. Not only was the ceiling high up, this natural underground chamber could have fitted three houses placed side-by-side. Far from here he could hear something bubbled up slowly, then burst. The smell was fetid but not overpowering.  
  
"We're at the heart of the mountain," Kumokura said. "That's sulphur you're smelling."  
  
"No doubt," Kakashi replied, thankful of this mask he had on. "We'll split and start looking for them."  
  
"Agreed," Kumokura said, slowly coming out from behind the stalagmite. "She's gone someplace else. Hey, let me do this."  
  
Kumokura made a hand seal and suddenly a small amount of spider silk fell upon Kakashi's face. When he looked inquiringly at her she replied, "So that I can know where you are, and you me."  
  
Kakashi nodded, then disappeared.  
  
  
Naruto felt something liquid and warm wrapped itself around his body. He tried to move but his body wouldn't oblige.   
  
"Just stay there, Naruto, dear… you will feel better in minutes…"  
  
Those voices… so clear, yet fading in and out of his hearing… like something out of a recent memory, and so… so coaxing…  
  
Naruto stopped moving, not even trying to breathe or open his eyes. He felt like he was floating on a cloud, where none of his senses worked and everything seemed far away. Even his troubles…  
  
"That's right, don't fight it… just stay there. There's no need to fight."  
  
Naruto thought red flames licked at both sides of his vision but it faded into a calming maroon. He forgot everything by then.  
  
  
Sakura felt there were multitudes of softness surrounded her. They felt almost like… flower petals, supple yet soft to her skin. They seemed to swim teasingly around her, like she was bathing in a tub full of flower petals.   
  
She could even smell them! They smelt so sweet, but not too overpowering.   
  
"Like that, Sakura?"  
  
She could only nod, and continued to swim in the flower petals.  
  
  
"Remember us, Sasuke?"  
  
He thought he could never hear those voices again.   
  
But now the voices are near him, surrounding him, comforting and warming him. Just like the May sunshine he recalled when he first knew and saw the world through very young eyes.  
  
"I'm always here with you." "And so am I, Sasuke."  
  
"We've always been here with you, and we always will be. Remember that. Now have a rest, don't think too much, and sleep."  
  
Sasuke thought a tear rolled down his cheek, but he felt his lips were smiling contently.  
  
  
Kumokura walked around in the darkness. Armed with a luminescent stick, she tried to pierce the darkness. Her keen eyes were a big bonus, because the chamber wasn't as harmless as she had thought earlier. The ground was pretty loose at some spots, and if she took a misstep, a river of lava awaited her beneath.   
  
_Where the hell is she_, Kumokura thought, waving the stick here and there. _I need to do this quick before I'm discovered._  
  
Suddenly, Kumokura heard a gasp. Indistinct though it was, she was sure it sounded rather close. Careful as not step on loose ground, she tried her best to track the sound via her ears and pinpoint its location. In the darkness it was hard to do, even for her keen eyes. But finally she managed to find the source, and she was shocked to see what it was.  
  
Her sister, in the spider form, crouching over a helpless Kakashi.   
  
He was lying spread-eagled on the ground and his hands were pinned beneath the huge leg-claws, struggling his best to free himself from underneath the hideous bloated monster. The spider hissed triumphantly when Kakashi turned his head around, sensing Kumokura's approach.  
  
Kumokura's eyes widened at that sight. She quickly leapt toward the two.  
  
"NO!" Kakashi screamed at her. "Kumokura, stay there!!"  
  
"_Too late!!_" The spider's mandibles lurched forward and snapped tightly shut over Kakashi's head. A sickening crunch! followed as Kumokura watched in stupefied awe how the spider flung the bodiless head away and proceeded to tear to pieces Kakashi's body, just like a crocodile would to a carcass. When there was nothing more left of the body the spider let out a triumphant call that shook the whole cave.  
  
Kumokura stood stock still, unable to say or do anything, even to move away from the spot. She felt as if she had grown roots and they wouldn't give away, even as the spider turned and moved toward her.  
  
"_Now, little sister, would you like to be my dessert?_"  
  
Kumokura took a deep breath, then she started to _laugh_.  


_Ooh, I'm sorry I wrote this very short, but there's a reason for it -- I was getting sleepy _:D_ Anyway, please do what all brave readers do, and yes, that's REVIEW! Thanks again for waiting for such a long time, too!_

_To Be Continued..,_


	6. In the Darkness! Lights, Jutsus, ACTION!

**Chapter 6  
  
** In the Dark! Lights, Jutsus, ACTION!

  
_Random Ramblings #5: Almost... there... almost... must... type... more... *falls asleep*_  


  
"_Why are you laughing?_"  
  
The luminescent stick shone its last bits of rays and then faded. She threw it away as she continued to laugh. It hit something and the sound echoed throughout the domed chamber.   
  
"_WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING!?_"  
  
Kumokura had to stop herself from laughing so hard. Her eyes were tearing from too much laughing, and her sides were hurting. Finally she calmed down, but she giggled now and then amid her sentences. "You… I never thought, well, you'd be this… **dumb**."  
  
The spider's small but threatening head tilted sideways. "_What?_"  
  
"You're a dumbass spider! Yeah, a dumbass!" Here Kumokura let out another laughter, almost as frightening as the one the spider had let out just now. "And to think… to think that I am your sister! You certainly fell for it! Just like Kakashi and the rest of his crappy team. A Jounin! To be tricked by such a simple method!"   
  
For the first time the spider showed a hint of emotion: hesitance. It moved one of its forelegs jerkily, Kakashi's blood dripping all over it. "What do you mean?"  
  
Kumokura let out another evil laugh. "You still don't get it, you pathetic excuse for a monster!! Kakashi saw me with this face." With that she unrolled a scroll that exploded, thus producing light as bright as the summer sun.   
  
The spider flinched back at this, but when it became used to the light it recovered itself and saw why. Its whole body shook in anger and the mandibles gnashed together furiously.  
  
"_You – my face!! How dare you, **Bakekumo**!!_"   
  
'Kumokura' grinned as she made several hand seals and her face slowly fell apart, just like multiple layers of thick spider silk, peeling off gently. Her true face was revealed.   
  
The real Kumokura, in her spider shape, watched this with increasing wrath and anxiety. Just then it recalled what had happened minutes ago. "_And this man –"_  
  
It lifted one leg slowly up and its head moved down, under the shadow that was darkened by blood. Then it let out a loud screech as its whole body began to shake violently.  
  
"_That man was Kakashi!? You – was it the same genjutsu you put on him so that he looked like him? -- !! You -- monster !_"  
  
"Look who's talking, sister," Bakekumo smirked haughtily. "So easily deceived. Even Kakashi was no match for me. And he, my dear sister, is the sole reason of my existence."  
  
"_What I know about your existence is only this: death and destruction!_"  
  
"Oh, am I so predictable?"  
  
"_No, you're simply my direct opposite._"  
  
"Let me tell you clearly, then. The whole spider monster hearsay was spread by yours truly, and it was not hard to do because I work in a restaurant. Drop a few words here and there, and you don't have any problem to watch how fast a simple story becomes a ridiculously frightening legend."  
  
The spider seemed to have recovered itself emotionally, but the eyes had begun to shine under the shadows. Bakekumo heard a loud hiss coming from above where the light scroll had been affixed and smiled. Soon, she would achieve what she had wanted to reach for a long time.  
  
"_The corpses…_" the spider moved its small head up and down as if nodding, "_you were the one who killed them. You were the one who feasted on those poor travellers._"  
  
Bakekumo walked toward the spider, looking at the spider silk strewn all over the granite floor. Blood, dried blood, blended with those sticky, poisonous fine threads. Bakekumo knew: she could smell it. She stopped in front of the massive spider and looked up.   
  
"It was something I do just to blow up the legend into believable proportions. Besides, people need proof of act before they could swallow up the stories whole."  
  
Kumokura stared down. "_I could kill you with just one move_," it said, hissing once.   
  
Bakekumo tilted her head to one side. She sensed the light was growing low. Good. With one hand at her back she was more than ready.   
  
"_Don't be so confident_," Bakekumo said.  
  
Just then the light went out.  
  
A _whoosh _was heard, then several sparks flew here and there. A strangled gasp, followed by something heavy tumbled onto the hard floor. From nowhere a single ray of light, much like a very tiny needle appeared and sped to the centre of the darkened arena. When a sudden yell of pain came, the weapon had found its mark.  
  
Something hissed, then light reappeared. It was Bakekumo holding the light scroll with Kumokura underneath her. Somehow Kumokura had changed into her human form and now was lying helpless, her chest straddled, her hands held up and away in Bakekumo's other free hand. Bakekumo laughed, throwing the scroll up where it stuck.  
  
"Just one move, sister? Looks like you're getting rusty. No, make it _rusted_."  
  
Kumokura stared at her in disbelief. "NO!!"  
  
"Oh, sister, definitely yes! Face it, you're no match for me. Now, I will take up your position here as the legendary spider, and I'll have control over the Goddess' Fountains!"  
  
Kumokura's eyes stretched even wider, disbelief in her eyes turning into apprehension.  
  
"Yes, sister, fear me! Because I will end your life now –"  
  
"NOT ON OUR SAY!!"  
  
Out of nowhere a mighty kick threw Bakekumo off Kumokura and she landed at the far side of the wall. Bakekumo didn't feel any of it at first: she saw only stars. Only later she realised that her mouth was bleeding, her cheek bruised and blood was coming out of her nose. Her kunai was lost during her painful flight, and for a moment her brain stopped functioning.  
  
"Nice, Sasuke! Now, it's my turn!!"  
  
Before she could get up, punches rained upon her body. Each punch propelled her further up into the air. At one time her body was up so high in the air and Kumokura stole this chance to create a single string of silk that would attach her to the ceiling – which she hoped for a slight reprieve from whatever that had suddenly attacked her.  
  
It stuck there.  
  
Bakekumo felt a surge of triumph.   
  
For a time.  
  
When she pulled at it the string fell down on her face and saw, as she instinctively half-turned while descending, a girl with pink hair, twirling a kunai in her finger, winking an eye at her. She saw the ground came up and again the now familiar hard granite floor greeted her painful jaw.  
  
She thought she passed out for a while. When she came to she heard voices.  
  
"…and that's for calling us a crappy team, you witch!" Naruto.  
  
"Naruto, get away from her. She's awakening." Sakura.  
  
"…"  
  
"Why won't you say something, Sasuke?"  
  
"… hn."  
  
"Just that!? _Hn_!? You're hopeless."  
  
Bakekumo fully regained her consciousness. Kumokura, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stood before her. She lurched forward and up, but found herself tied down. "Damn you kids," she muttered.  
  
"At least you don't call us a crappy team anymore," Naruto said, grinning down at her. "Good afternoon, bad spider."  
  
"Or, should we call you, the serving lady?" Sakura said with a smile, leaning toward her while tightening the knot. She nodded to herself. "It was a perfect plan, wasn't it, Sasuke?"  
  
Sasuke stared indifferently at Bakekumo. "Anyone could have seen through your plans, Bakekumo-san. But without him, we could have been tricked and things probably won't be as it is right now."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?!!" Bakekumo barked at them. "My plan was perfect! It took us years to come up with it and Terazuma-sama said it was foolproof!!"  
  
Sasuke stared down at her silently yet proudly. "I wasn't referring to Terazuma-san."  
  
Just then Bakekumo's eyes grew round with dreadful realization.   
  
Kumokura gave her a bogus sympathetic smile. "Ah, sister. You should really try to keep your mouth shut, especially when you have so many witnesses here."  
  
Bakekumo's face was red with anger. "How – how did you know?" she whispered between tightly clenched teeth.  
  
Sasuke stepped back. "First, the flowers."  
  
"The flowers you pointed to us were ward-flowers," Sakura continued at a sign from Sasuke. "From books I've read, they are ward flowers. I had wondered to myself why you referred to them as charms, because they are native only to the Shibata regions and, as a native, you shouldn't have made that mistake."  
  
Naruto mumbled to himself in confusion, but somehow he managed to grasp the gist of it. "Yeah, yeah! So in short, Sakura-chan, she lied about the flowers, right?!"  
  
Sakura sighed. "Okay, so Naruto's explanation is better."  
  
"Second, Kumokura-sama herself told us the truth."  
  
Bakekumo snorted. "And you believed her? That was easy of you. What if she were the bad guy and I was the good guy?"  
  
Naruto's grinning face began to turn into a doubtful expression. "Eh, Sasuke-kun, she might be right…"  
  
"Yeah? So, what if you actually caught the good guy and the bad guy is actually Kumokura herself?!" Bakekumo asked, trying to buy herself some time. She could feel the knot at her back unravelling slowly.  
  
Naruto became more and more doubtful. "Sakura-chan!? That's possible too, right?"  
  
Sakura began to think. True, the situation could be just like that woman in custody claimed to be. Plus, the fight in the dark just now was rather confusing. She turned to Sasuke questioningly. "Sasuke, what about your…?"  
  
Sasuke's expression was bland at first, then slowly he smiled as he dropped his gaze lower on Bakekumo. His smile was like someone had slashed the part between his nose and chin with a very slender knife and decided it would suffice to look like his mouth.  
  
"I guess we have no choice but –"  
  
_That's enough time_, Bakekumo thought. Suddenly she stood up and rushed toward Sakura. Taken by surprise, Sakura could not move away from the incoming attack. Naruto was also surprised, but even when he rushed toward Sakura, Bakekumo was definitely going to get at her in time.  
  
Sasuke still smiled.   
  
- when Bakekumo felt something crushed her face with tremendous power. Her own momentum, combined with the debilitating force, produced the most painful blow Bakekumo ever felt in her life. It threw her yet again back to the wall where she had been seconds ago, taking out her breath and mind for a long moment.  
  
Long enough for Sakura to recover and leap up on her feet, for Naruto to stare, for Sasuke to think _he's always late, annoyingly late_.  
  
Kakashi stood there with the revealed eye closed, the mask shaded in such a way by the light scroll that it seemed he was smiling.   
  
"You're late again, sensei," Sakura said but in a grateful tone.  
  
"It's okay," he replied as he bit his finger through the mask until some blood dripped out, and made several hand seals. Out of nowhere came several nin-dogs, big enough to hold Bakekumo down. They nonchalantly bit at her neck, arms, legs and torso, keeping her immobile. "Now she's not going anywhere."  
  
Sasuke sighed. "Won't you tell her, sensei?"  
  
"Tell her what? Oh – right," he added quickly when he saw Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Well, even your best laid plan has its shortcomings. For example," Kakashi turned to Sakura, "Sakura's radio was on all the time. So when I was running with you (who disguised yourself as Kumokura) I was actually listening to the real Kumokura telling her story to them."  
  
Sakura felt for the small receiver and checked it, which was still on, although it wasn't receiving anything now. Naruto followed her fingers and felt for his own radio, too.  
  
"Your disguise was very good, I must say," Kakashi continued. "But a good disguise doesn't cover for your acts."  
  
"Really? Such as?" Bakekumo spat out.  
  
It was Kumokura's turn to speak. "Sister, I'm very good at reading tracks. You, on the other hand, had depended on Kakashi the whole time. You even asked him at one time for help. I never asked him on reading tracks; _he_ used to ask for _my_ opinions."  
  
"So, that's how your plan was foiled," Kakashi said.  
  
"And that was why you didn't want me to attack her on the surface," Bakekumo reasoned. "You already knew who I really was ."  
  
Kakashi nodded. "Yes. And the Kakashi you thought Kumokura had torn apart?"  
  
"It was your Kawarimi, right?" Bakekumo said weakly. "I should have known that."  
  
"Actually, that's quite complicated," Kakashi replied, moving out of the light briefly before returning to his previous spot with something in his hand, "it was _him_." Kakashi revealed it under the light.  
  
Bakekumo's eyes widened in shock, while Terazuma's own lifeless ones stared up at the ceiling. The neck had stopped dripping blood long ago and ants were crawling around the stump where it used to attach to a neck.  
  
"See," Kakashi said as he placed it within a cloth and wrapped it carefully, "Terazuma thought you were meeting him here to see the results of your plans. With my Henge I lured him under here while you were looking for Kumokura and my students."  
  
"My genjutsu should have been undetectable," Bakekumo said. "You should have never seen it coming."  
  
Kakashi gave out a short laugh. He shook his head, saying, "It seems you never heard that I am also known as a Copy Ninja." He pulled up the cloth covering his left eye and, to his delight and Bakekumo's shock, the Sharingan eye was revealed. "The darkness covered me while pulling open this cloth, and in the instant you put the jutsu on me I knew something was wrong with your so-called tracing jutsu."  
  
"Then how –" she was unable to finish her words.  
  
"How did Terazuma ended up being killed?" Kumokura finished her question. "Easy. Kakashi knocked him unconscious and placed him under me. After he put the genjutsu you had placed earlier on Kakashi - so that Terazuma looked like Kakashi - I just finished him off and pretended that I was distraught when you told me the 'truth'."  
  
"But his voice -?"  
  
"Kakashi-sensei did the voice acting from behind Kumokura just before you came forward," Sakura answered it. "He simply retreated into the shadows later on, and placed a marker on you so that in the darkness none of us would confuse one spider with another."  
  
"That was my idea," Naruto said excitedly. He pointed to Bakekumo's exposed leg where a very thin needle stuck out. It glinted under the light. "Sasuke did it, though. I thought it didn't work at first…"  
  
Bakekumo dropped her gaze to where Naruto had pointed and closed her eyes, smiling in defeat. "You kids," she said. "I give up. And now, what are you going to do?"  
  
_TBC!!! So what will the kids do now!? Please wait for the next installment! Yayyy!!!_


	7. More Precious Than My Life

**Chapter 7**  
  
More Precious Than My Life

  
  
  
  
  
  
"My intentions of coming here was never mainly about the herb. The Daimyo of Shibata, Lord Shimoru, had his suspicions of Terazuma, the village head of Amakura. Weapons trade was dropping yet Terazuma kept on asking for more money from the lord, with rebuilding Amakura as a reason. It has been three years and even though there was a slight improvement, Shimoru-sama felt it didn't do the money he had given there any justice."   
  
Kumokura and Kakashi sat at a riverbank as Naruto hunted for fish in the river. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen, but he had wanted to hunt for some rabbits, while Sakura lie asleep not far from where the two were seated. The incidents that had occurred were very exerting and she had begged for rest.  
  
It had been two days since they killed Bakekumo inside the Shibata Mountains. The lava pits were very convenient and there was no clean-up task to do later on. Kakashi had given Lord Shimoru the head of Bakekumo as a proof she had been killed.  
  
"So everything was a cover-up for Terazuma amassing a military power of his own. Quite brilliant." Kumokura shook her head. "But I still can't connect the idea with the Goddess' Fountains."  
  
Kakashi stared at her. "The hot springs are not only therapeutically valuable. Even you know of its real worth."  
  
Kumokura's eyes flew wide. "What – oh, do you mean – I never thought of the springs that way before."  
  
"Yes," he nodded. "Imagine if these soldiers carry the waters along with them to war. The water heals wounds in a second and rejuvenates the tired instantly, making the entire army virtually indefatigable machines of warfare."  
  
"That explains a lot," was all she could say.  
  
"According to his journals, two years back Terazuma took a sudden interest in herbal remedies that took him to discover this root. All the money he asked for must have gone into researches for military purposes." He took out several papers and showed it to Kumokura. "Look at these."  
  
Kumokura did and nodded in awe. "It's a design for water flasks. It's ingenious. Soldier pills… oh my, these are actually very frightening. Regeneration pills combined with the water – this is very frightening."  
  
"These pills could have been actually better than the present soldier and regeneration pills even the medics in my village had ever developed. You can carry a huge amount of the spring water inside these flasks. Both are very easy to use. One needs no intelligence to operate these. All they would need is the urge to kill."  
  
She pushed the papers back to Kakashi. "If you didn't come here, Kakashi, I don't know what could have happened. Maybe by now I'm already dead and they would have the army ready to strike Shibata – or other countries."  
  
Kakashi stared at her, then at the papers. With a simple hand seal, he started a small fire and gathered the papers together and burnt them. "Hey, look on the bright side."  
  
"Such as?"  
  
He pointed to a very wet Naruto emerging from the river and Sasuke who seemed to have appeared from nowhere. "Here comes Naruto with fresh fish and Sasuke with some rabbits. Get the fire burning and the drinks ready."  
  
Kakashi got up and Kumokura raised a questioning eyebrow. "And where do you think you're going?"  
  
He smiled abashedly. "I'm already late for a meeting with a friend at the village. One thing though," Kakashi added. "When I killed Bakekumo…"  
  
Kumokura closed her eyes briefly as her lips curved up in a slight smile. It was sad and beautiful at the same time. "Kakashi, I have no hard feelings. Although she was my sister, her evil was just too much not to be contained in any other way."  
  
"A fuda would have helped," Kakashi suggested.  
  
Kumokura shook her head slowly, her long fine hair moved silkily along. "My teacher (the late Aburame Sannin) taught me that fuda works only if the receiver is willing to leave all of his/her old ways. The fuda is only a tool. It is the vessel that must do everything to repent and begin anew." She paused and opened her eyes. "Bakekumo was not that kind of – entity who had all that."  
  
Kakashi shrugged. "It's inevitable, though, that she had to die." With that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
  
  
"You're late, Kakashi."  
  
He bowed low. "Please excuse me. I had to meet a friend beforehand."  
  
There came a grunt. "I hope that you have what you claim to have."  
  
Kakashi took out a thick sealed envelope. "This is it, my lord." After a pause he said cautiously: "My lord, pardon me, but that envelope is marked RESEARCH NOTES, and I doubt if they are of any use."  
  
"Why do you think so?"  
  
"Well, if the envelope contains what it claims to be, then they all are merely research notes, bones no one can make sense of."  
  
"But give it to someone who is well-versed in bones and he will be able to rebuild the whole skeleton. That is good enough for me."  
  
Kakashi watched as the envelope exchanged hands. He gave it to a wrinkled old man – probably his aide – who checked the seal with a magnifying glass. After a while the old man nodded.   
  
"Intact. I should have known you're trustworthy and a good investment." He and the aide stood up while Kakashi remained seated. "My man will send a cheque to your village. Fifty thousand, as promised."  
  
"Yes, my lord," Kakashi whispered, listening as the sliding door closed behind him. Then he remembered the papers he had burnt at the riverbank, and smiled to himself.  
  
"Yes, Kakashi," he thought as he prepared himself to disappear, "it's a small price to pay when you have the chance to avert an entire disaster."  
  
Kakashi had his own doubts when, after he had accepted the mission, he had been required to have a personal audience with his client. It turned out that while everything about Terazuma initially was correct – that he had been demanding a lot of money yet nothing came of it – his client's depth of knowledge concerning Terazuma and Bakekumo was rather puzzling.   
  
Terazuma was never careless: he had always covered his tracks and left nothing out. Even the letter he had purloined wasn't easy to find. All the details Shimoru-sama had supplied to Kakashi would not be possible if the daimyo had not had a spy inside Terazuma's organization.  
  
Along with the original mission, his client had one more task to add – within the chaos following the death of Terazuma and his partner, Bakekumo, he was to purloin the research notes Terazuma had been keeping and gave it to him. A simple plan, because nobody knew of its existence besides his partner, who conveniently would eventually die, one way or the other.  
  
Opening his eye, he found he was standing under a tree. A river flowed not far from where he was, and already his stomach was rumbling with the smell of roasting fish and rabbit flesh. Kumokura and Sakura were deciding on which spice would go for which meat, while Sasuke and Naruto eyed each other, competing on whose meat would cook first.  
  
_Yes, such a small price to pay for something like this to remain the way it should be_, he thought, watching the papers that now had became embers underneath the burning dry woods, roasting the fish and rabbits. _The papers in the daimyo's hands were really Terazuma's, but they're not what he is after. _   
  
"Hey, sensei!" Sakura called to him, breaking his thoughts. "Come on here! Kumokura-san has some sake for you!"  
  
Although he didn't drink sake (at least not in public), Kakashi nodded and walked toward them.  
  
"Those rabbits look tasty!" he said to Sasuke. "Fat and juicy."  
  
"But – but –" Naruto began. "Fish is good for you! Fish have no fat and more delicious than rabbits!"  
  
"Naruto!" Sakura said, irritated. "SHUT UP!"  
  
Later when everyone had their fill of rabbit and fish, Sasuke turned to Kumokura. He had some reserves before, but now Sasuke felt certain apathy to her.   
  
"What did you do to us when you put us all inside those cocoon?"  
  
Kumokura, all loosened up by the sake, giggled before replying: "Oh! Well, you guys looked so tired, so I thought putting you guys to sleep was the best thing to do while waiting for further orders from Kakashi."  
  
"But, according to Sakura-chan," Naruto chimed in, "your spider silk is supposed to be poisoned!"  
  
"Yeah, Kumokura-san," Sakura echoed Naruto. "I read that spider monsters – no offence – produce poisonous silks to defend themselves. It's supposed to be very deadly to human while the spider itself if immune to the effects."  
  
Again Kumokura giggled. "Whoa, Sakura-chan! Kakashi wasn't kidding when he told me you're the brightest ninja." Sakura nodded humbly as her cheeks reddened. "But don't believe everything a book tells you."  
  
"So what happened?" Sasuke pressed on.   
  
Kumokura smiled. "You must have heard about my oath. The fuda inside me was crafted in such a way that I will not be able to produce harmful silk. But it will become harmful to those who try to hurt me. Besides, I think living around the healing hot springs gave my silk additional bonus. I can heal myself faster by spinning a cocoon around my body. That was what I did to you."  
  
Sasuke nodded and returned to his spot and stare blankly at space. Naruto went back to teasing Sakura while Kakashi and Kumokura looked on.  
  
"You're drinking too much, Kumokura."  
  
"I don't do this everyday, okay." She sipped again. "Don't try to stop me."  
  
After punching Naruto in the face Sakura turned to Kakashi. "Sensei, you must help me get rid of Naruto's insolent face. I can't stand him!"  
  
"Well," Kakashi said, shrugging his shoulders, "I can't, because after all, you're his team mates, and whether you'd like it or not, you have to stay this way until you became individual chuunins."  
  
Sakura's eyes widened and she whined. "You mean, almost my entire teenage years?! That's horrible! Then – then, I'd have to do missions with him! Oh - !" Quickly her eyes changed. "Say, Kakashi-sensei, speaking about missions…"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Her eyes became very sneaky and Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "What kind of mission ranking do you suppose this is?"  
  
"What? No – no way. This mission was mine from the start. And remember that I didn't invite you three to come with me. You came along!"  
  
"Oh, but without us, the mission would have failed," Naruto chipped in, rubbing a huge bump on his head. "Sensei, you have to include us! We were important in this mission!"  
  
"We were indispensable!" Sakura added, proud of her vocabulary.  
  
"I have to agree, sensei," Sasuke said, standing behind the two as they gave way for him. "After all, we did much of the work, while you just did some work backstage."  
  
Even Kumokura joined in, giggling madly. "Without them, Kakashi, you would've failed this mission!"   
  
"What do you say, sensei!!!"  
  
Kakashi stared around unwillingly. "Ah… um…"  
  


THE END

_Author's Note: Finally, it's done! I thank you, dear readers for your kind words and support, and to a friend (you know who you are) thanks for pushing me so far. See where it gets me? Maybe I'll have another inspiration during the New Year's Eve... _


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